Radio Control: Pylon Racing
THE YEAR of the Q500? It looks to me like it might be. Boy, I wonder if the old bearded one, Glen Spickler, ever thought this type of Racing would grow like it has. For those who don't remember, Glen designed and kitted the Spickler Q500 Pylon Racer. This plane was designed to be a low-cost, fun-to-build, and fun-to-fly Pylon Racer. Just the thing for club races: low-key, low-cost racing for those who wanted to race but didn't want to get as involved as the Formula One pilot. These days Q500 has a good set of rules-and even a spot at the Nationals, though I'm not sure it was intended to get this big. Remember, guys: It was supposed to be a low-key event! When you bring it to the Nats . . . well, we'll see. I hope for the best, because there sure are a lot of people flying this neat event.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
BOY, THIS season went by fast for me. I lost some good friends this year - Hubert Wills (from Texas), Matt Smith, Monty Moncrief, and John Brodbeck (of K&B). I remember John helping me get my K&B engine running at the Oshkosh Nationals. It seems as though he was always around with the orange K&B truck to help out the racers. The latest loss was a friend of mine and a friend to Pylon Racing - Jim Shinohara. Following is a write-up by Dave Shadel presented in High Performance, the NMPRA (National Miniature Pylon Racing Association) newsletter that pretty well covers it:
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
ENGINE PREPARATION is the subject of an interesting article I have just read. It appeared in the SEMPRA newsletter. I'm sure its author, Dennis O'Brian, won't mind my passing it on to you. He wrote it primarily for Sport Pylon enthusiasts, but the basic principles hold true for all Pylon classes. "What makes a winner in Racing? Is it aircraft design? Propeller technology? Engine? Flying skills? What is it? The answer is simple: It's all of these ingredients-plus a pinch of luck (a large pinch!). The chatter throughout the pits at any race is how fast one or more persons are going. This is usually followed by how `cheated up' their engines are. Well, being as I (at one time or another) have been accused of such underhanded tactics, I am here to tell it all in this long-awaited article. I will reveal (almost) all of my `secrets'-so sit down, get comfortable, and read on.
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
TWO major events during 1988 should interest the Formula One fliers: the AMA Nationals, and the NMPRA Championships. But back in the Seventies we had an annual race in Bakersfield, CA that, at one time, drew over 100 entries. Just about anyone who was anybody in Racing attended this contest. We even had people come from Japan just for the meet. Those were the good old days! It sure would be great to have a race of that magnitude again. Well, maybe we might just have a chance to have such an event again! It might not be in Bakersfield-but how about Phoenix, AZ?
Radio Control: Pylon Racing
WELL, here we are just about midway through the '88 Pylon Racing season with plenty of racing for Q500, Formula One, and Quarter Midget. There's also lots of home-brew type contests put on by a large majority of AMA clubs that most of us don't even know about. Let's look at some race reports from around the country; but first, a few comments from yours truly. Why Pylon Racing? There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of Pylon Races of some type being held every year. People just love to race. There is a little competitive blood in everyone. Some of you are just as happy flying around the club field and maybe racing a friend once in a while. A large majority of you might enter club races, racing trainer-type planes or whatever.
